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This Single Dad Lost 40 Pounds in ​8 Months to Get Healthy For His Baby

Nathan Chan wanted to become a dad, but he didn't have a partner. So he decided to do it himself.

By
James Ostime

Apr 20, 2018

Nathan Chen

Conventional wisdom dictates that expectant fathers are prone to gaining sympathy weight alongside their partners. After all, if Mom is increasing her intake of calories and nutrients to stay healthy in pregnancy, shouldn’t Dad eat for two too?

But Nathan Chan, 33, a single dad who's expecting a baby via surrogate, isn't packing on the pounds. He's burning them off.

In most respects, Chan's journey to fatherhood has been anything but typical. He's the managing director of Proud Fertility, a full-service surrogacy consultancy in Canada that pairs egg donors and surrogate mothers with people preparing for children. “In my line of work, I see people desperate to be parents. I realized that if I didn’t act on my own desire to become a father, it could pass me by,” Chan told MensHealth.com.

His desire for parenthood was so strong that Nathan decided to become a dad by himself, hiring a surrogate to carry his child — an incredibly time-consuming, expensive process that could cost more than $100,000.

“I haven’t found The One yet, but I am ready to be a father,” he says. “I want to start a family while I still feel young enough to chase a toddler.” But before he welcomed his new addition into his life, he realized he needed to get healthier — ASAP.

Nathan Chen

At first, Chan had no idea how to get started on his fitness journey. Intimidated by the weightlifting area at the gym, “initially, I was just spending hours at the gym every day doing cardio,” he says. At the same time, he decreased his sugar intake drastically, cutting out candy, desserts, chocolate, juice, and soda.

Eventually, Chan started hitting the gym at least six times a week. moved into strength training and core exercises. He started incorporating planks, pushups, back squats, Russian twists, and deadlifts into his routine. Though daunting at first, they eventually became essential components of his workout. And as his workouts increased in intensity, his diet became more restrictive.

"I have been so successful on my weight loss journey because I have been motivated by love."

Chan also began making lifestyle changes outside the gym. “I take the stairs, I park further away, and when I am making plans with friends, we choose more active entertainment, like going for walks and seeing more of the city," he says.

Nathan Chan now.

Nathan Chan

Eventually, Chan's efforts started paying off: over the course of eight months, he's dropped more than 40 pounds and counting. He credits his success to his new motivation: his baby girl, who's due in May.

“[In the past] I tried to lose weight for shallow reasons,” he admits. “I tried to make changes and get healthier, but it never lasted... I believe the reason I have been so successful on my weight loss journey this time is because I have been motivated by love. I focused on the kind of dad I want to be, and that dad isn’t someone who lives on takeout and can’t keep up with little ones.”

Chan's work with intended parents, egg donors, and gestational surrogates has given him countless examples of how to prepare for a baby, but even he knows you can never be fully prepared for new parenthood. Still, by losing 40 pounds, Chan knows he's already set a good example for his daughter.

“As parents,” he says, “the best way to teach our children the importance of health is to make our own health a priority.”

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